Rookie quarterbacks Ryan Mallett and Terrelle Pryor are not so dissimilar. Both were third round draft picks -- Mallett last April and Pryor in the supplemental draft -- and both come to the NFL with character marks that have been branded on them by a lack of discipline.

Yahoo Sports’ Jason Cole compares the two and tries to explain why they will or will not succeed with the team that drafted them.

And while we’ve already discussed how these two players will affect their teams as rookies, Cole presents some interesting theories.

Yeah, it doesn’t take a soothsayer to predict that Pryor might be in trouble now that the Raiders have their paws on him, but Cole writes that Pryor’s biggest career problem is that nobody has had the audacity to tell him no. Not in high school and not former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.

While Raiders coach Hue Jackson will try to make his mark on Pryor, it’s also documented that Oakland owner Al Davis doesn’t exactly back up his coaches when it comes to disciplining his players. Writes Cole: “Davis picked [JaMarcus] Russell, seeing him as the second-coming of [Jim] Plunkett from an athletic perspective. Davis then let Russell run wild over coaches Lane Kiffin and Tom Cable. Those coaches tried to discipline Russell from time to time, but Davis either waived the fines or didn’t do anything until it was way too late.”

And we all know where Russell is these days (well, actually we don’t, which is kind of the point).

Patriots coach Bill Belichick doesn’t have a problem letting his players know the way he wants things done, which means Mallett will have to adjust. And Cole has another interesting tidbit about all the partying Mallett is alleged to have done before training camp began. Writes Cole: “Aside from the sordid tales of him from college, the latest story about him was the all-night partying he did at the NFL Players Association rookie symposium in Sarasota, Fla., in July, according to two sources.”

Which probably isn’t a good idea, especially if the biggest predraft concern by teams -- and probably the reason he slipped to the third round -- was because of his off-the-field behaviors.

You can’t be stupid and play quarterback in the NFL, and right now, the jury is still out on how much sense Mallett has in his brain.

So, aside from what round they were drafted and the concerns about their character, you have to wonder how we’ll be discussing Pryor and Mallett five years from now. Obviously, there’s now way to tell, but if we’re discussing which of the quarterbacks has a better chance to succeed on where he was drafted, you’d have to give the nod to Mallett at this point.

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Al Davis making outrageous comparisons is nothing new. But it seemed like we'd reached a period in Raiders history where anytime you saw Al in public it was really just a remake of Weekend at Bernie's things had calmed down a little.

"I see this young Jason Campbell as a football player like I saw Jim Plunkett," Davis said. "He has everything. He was 13-0 in college at Auburn. He can throw up the field. He can run. He's big. He's smart."

Jason Campbell IS talented. He CAN launch the ball. He CAN run. He IS big. And he IS smart.

But he is NOT going to lead the Raiders to a Super Bowl this year. Which is what Plunkett did. Personally, I think the Raiders will be good -- second in the AFC West is my prediction -- and certainly, they will be improved over last year.

But it's one thing to sing someone's praises. It's an entirely different thing to heap unrealistic expectations on the new quarterback in town.